Monday Musings

With Billy Graham’s recent death, I have been reading a small sliver of the articles, tributes, posts, and remembrances written about him. While I generally hold Billy Graham in high regard, I do not have a story to tell of a personal encounter with him or his ministry. I have enjoyed a few personal stories of others, though.

Billy Graham leaves an immense legacy with many touting his greatness, however, I have been mostly drawn to articles discussing his family, and in particular, his children. Many of these articles discuss his time spent away from his family for ministry sake and the fall out among his family. One writer highlighted, though, that while some of his children’s journeys were rocky, all five kids eventually found themselves in some capacity of ministry.

Anne Graham Lotz’s (Billy Graham’s second oldest daughter) words in one such article struck me. She said, “My life’s goal is to know God like Abraham did. My ministry is all a part of my passionate pursuit to know God. I saw that in Daddy, also, a desire to know God that way. My father’s impact was not just in what he said to me, but in the power of his example.”*

While I cannot currently recall reading anything by Anne Graham Lotz, I think her desire to imitate Abraham’s “magnificent obsession” (as she calls it) for friendship with God is a worthy goal. Pursuing a relationship with God and abiding in His love flows into love for others. I love that she recognizes her father’s words and his actions and example, albeit an imperfect one. I hope that my life will be a testament and example to my own children of that abiding pursuit in my own life, even if it is done imperfectly as well.

*http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/billy-graham/little-girls-need-their-daddy-billy-graham.html